Two charged in connection with deaths on reservation

YAKIMA — Two men arrested in connection with five slaying over the weekend on the Yakama Indian Reservation were charged on Monday with assault with a dangerous weapon related to fleeing the slayings.

James Cloud, 35, and Donovan Quinn Carter Cloud, whose age was not available, briefly held a child at gunpoint, resulting in the assault charge, and demanded the keys to a car while fleeing, according to documents filed in federal court in Spokane, Washington.

The documents also said witnesses told officers the two men “shot and killed several people” in White Swan on Saturday. Both men were identified in the documents as members of the Yakama Nation.

James Cloud was taken into custody early Monday morning with the help of a police dog near the town of Wapato after a brief fight with law enforcement officers, the Yakima County Sheriff’s Office said.

Cloud was treated at a hospital for minor injuries and then booked into jail on a federal warrant for assault. Three other suspects were arrested shortly after the Saturday killings.

“Currently there are no further suspects or persons of interest outstanding,” the sheriff’s office said.

The identities of the victims, how they were killed, and a motive were not immediately released.

All the victims were adults, and officials were trying to determine if they were related, Sheriff Robert Udell told The Associated Press.

Some were known to law enforcement for being involved in illegal drug activities, the sheriff said.

The Saturday killings were near the reservation community of White Swan, about 150 miles (241 kilometers) southeast of Seattle. One of the five victims was found in a vehicle.

“I’ve been here 30 years and I don’t remember another case with five different homicides,” Udell said.

White Swan, an impoverished community of about 800 residents located south of the city of Yakima, can be a rough place. Last year, the Yakama Nation Tribal Council passed a resolution declaring a public safety crisis, specifically citing rampant crime in White Swan.

The Yakima County Sheriff’s Office, Yakama Nation Tribal Police and the FBI are jointly investigating the killings.

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